He interrupted his studies from 1971 until 1973 due to service in the Soviet Army in Belarus, where he operated a tank squad.

In 1973, Gailis started working as a senior equipment engineer in the Riga Furniture Factory Teika, which was part of the Ministry of Timber Processing Industry in the Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic.

From 1979 to 1983, he was Chief Power Engineer in the Ministry of Timber Processing Industry of the Latvian SSR; he then became Chief Work Technical Inspector in the Central Committee of the Wood, Paper and Timber Processing Industry Worker Trade Union from 1983 until 1985.

For the next two years, he was Director General of the External Economic Relations Department in the Latvian Council of Ministers.

[2] At the end of 1992, together with others who shared the same views, Gailis established the most influential right-wing liberal political party of that time, Latvian Way.

In 1996, he announced that he was leaving politics: he stepped down from the minister’s position, resigned as a member of parliament and turned to business.

He was involved in a real property project development, of which the most significant parts were a gypsum factory and Ķīpsala terraced houses, amongst others.

[6] In 1985, he developed the Latvian SSR Culture Pavilion in the World Youth and Students’ Festival in Moscow.

Together with Augusts Sukuts, Māris founded the International Film Forum Arsenāls, the first of which took place in 1988.

On 22 April 2003, after a journey of approximately 40,000 nautical miles during which visited more than 30 countries, Milda arrived at Ventspils Port.